BJP does not open mark in Kerala

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Union minister O Rajagopal has lost, pushed to the third position by the Left Democratic Front's K K Divakaran in a keenly watched three-cornered fight for the Palakkad seat.

Divakaran, a prominent trade union leader, wrested the seat for the CPI-M, defeating A V Gopinath of the Congress by 1,344 votes.

Palakkad was one of the few seats in Kerala where the BJP had placed its hopes of making a breakthrough in the state.